Incomplete
by Mom2abntb
Summary: A songfic based on the Backstreet Boys song. This is a one shot.
1. Chapter 1

**INCOMPLETE**

_Empty spaces fill me up with holes  
Distant faces with no place left to go  
Without you within me I can't find no rest  
Where I'm going is anybody's guess._

Booth sat in his office, glancing over at the phone for the fiftieth time. She wasn't going to call and there wasn't going to be any apology. She had made her decision. Hurt beyond anything he'd ever felt settled into his gut as the finality of it all hit him.

_I tried to go on like I never knew you  
I'm awake but my world is half asleep_

Booth stood and grabbed his coat. He took the stairs to avoid any well-meaning attempts from his fellow agents to comfort him. What's done was done; even though it'd been Brennan's idea to terminate their partnership, she'd done so because of him and what he'd said.

_I pray for this heart to be unbroken  
But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete._

_Voices tell me I should carry on  
But I am swimming in an ocean all alone_

Looking at the ground, he almost ran into her as he exited the Hoover Building. She looked beautiful, but her expression was not a happy one. Regret flashed in her eyes before being replaced with hurt and anger. Agent Monohan steered Brennan around Booth and as he turned, Booth noticed Brennan looking back at him, her eyes shown with disappointment.

_  
Baby, my baby  
It's written on your face  
You still wonder if we made a big mistake._

After an hour of driving around aimlessly, he decided to go home to try to get some much needed rest.

_I tried to go on like I never knew you  
I'm awake but my world is half asleep  
I pray for this heart to be unbroken  
But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete_

Passing the answering machine on the counter, he noticed there were no new messages. Defeated, he fell onto the couch, alone with his thoughts once again.

_I don't mean to drag it on, but I can't seem to let you go  
I don't wanna make you face this world alone  
I wanna let you go (alone)_

It had seemed the right thing to do, to tell her how he felt about her. He loved her, he had admitted, had for a long time. He had prepared a hundred solutions to any concerns she might have raised, but he hadn't been prepared for her reply. Brennan had told Booth that they couldn't have a relationship, but not for reasons of safety, their working relationship, or the job. It was because she didn't love him back, would never love him any more than a brother. And then she put in for a transfer, terminating their friendship as well as their partnership. His head in his hands, he began to cry.

_I tried to go on like I never knew you  
I'm awake but my world is half asleep  
I pray for this heart to be unbroken  
But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete._

_  
_A light rapping on the door brought Booth out of his reverie. Getting up from the couch, he threw the empty bottle in the trash can. Walking to the door, he looked through the peephole and took a ragged breath. Bones. She stood only mere inches away from him and he began to feel nauseous. Against his better judgment he removed the chain from the lock and opened the door.

_  
Incomplete._


	2. Epilogue

Here's my epilogue for those of you that were interested! Hope you enjoy this ending!

_Five Years Later_

"What are you thinking about?" Brennan asked, lifting her head from Booth's shoulder to look at him. He'd been very quiet during the football game, a rarity when it came to his Steelers.

"I was just thinking about how quickly time passes," he answered, looking into her blue eyes. "Parker is growing up so fast and getting ready to go into middle school. I'm contemplating early retirement. And it seems like it was just yesterday when Ruthie was born." Brennan sighed and looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms.

"I never thought I would be a mother," she whispered, cradling the child closer to her chest. "I'm glad all of this happened, Booth." Her eyes returned to the brown ones she loved.

"You made it possible," he answered, planting a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "If you hadn't have come by my apartment that night, we probably would have never spoken again."

--

…_against his better judgment he removed the chain from the lock and opened the door. _

"_What are you doing here Dr. Brennan?" Booth asked, standing in the doorway. She looked anxious, like she was unsure of her decision to come by. _

_Taking a breath, she replied. "I thought maybe we could talk."_

"_I think you said all you needed to a month ago," Booth replied, walking away but leaving the door ajar. Brennan followed, closing the door behind her. Booth was in the kitchen, but instead of joining him, she walked into the living room. Booth took a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with ice and then filtered water. Walking into the living room, he stopped, seeing his partner with her back to him, shoulders slumped. His arms ached to hold her, but he refrained._

"_Agent Monohan is putting in for a transfer. He can't work with me, he says." Brennan turned to face him. "I'm sorry, Booth. I don't know what possessed me to do such a horrible thing. But…when you told me you lo…that you had feelings for me, I balked. And the only way I knew I could keep my distance from you was to not work with you anymore. I didn't and still don't know how to deal with your confession. But I do know that I can't ignore you any longer. I can't ignore what's been missing in my life. Not just my work partner, but my friend; the one man who wouldn't betray me, the one I could count on no matter what; the man who took a bullet for me, who would've given his life, a life with his son, for me. I don't know what all of this means for us, Booth, but I know I want to give it a shot. I want to love you…and I want you to love me." Booth sat the glass on the counter and slowly walked to her. She looked up at him and he could see tears in her eyes. He cupped her face with his hands and leaned in. "I do love you, Temperance." His lips met hers softly as she snaked her arms around his waist._

"_And I love you."_

And as they say…the rest is history.


End file.
